Personification
by Blade of Beatrice
Summary: A school field trip and some metaphorical language make for an interesting encounter... Hao and Yoh BROTHER fic, oneshot.


This is my take on Yoh and Hao reuniting as brothers. It's my first fic, so be nice and review. Keep in mind that I do not own Shaman King.

Personification 

Yoh sighed, causing Anna to smack him on the head.

"What was that for?!"

"Don't play innocent with me. You were thinking of ditching, weren't you?!" He laughed nervously. Anna knew him far too well. Yoh would rather be home relaxing with Amidamaru than on a school field trip to the city.

They had been wandering around the city's various shops and museums for about 2 hours, and Yoh - being his usual lazy self - was thoroughly ready for a nap. But then something caught his attention.

"Excuse me sir, but if you want to sit here than you'll have to extinguish that fire." They were on the steps leading to the library, guided by one of the librarians. She had stopped to talk to a young man in his early-to-mid teens, wearing red pants and a hooded white poncho that hid his face from view. His only visible possessions were a brown backpack and a box of matches, with which he had started a small fire. He looked up from the fire to stare at the librarian.

"Why? Is there something wrong with my fire?" The librarian looked a bit taken aback that he would ask such an obvious question.

"Well, yes. Fire is generally very dangerous. And I think it should be quite obvious that a library fire is especially dangerous."

The young man tilted his head as if absorbing the librarian's argument. Yoh looked at his classmates. Manta and the group he had been talking to had turned to listen. Most of the others were ignoring the conversation, dismissing it as the rambling of a madman. Yoh found his girlfriend, in true Anna fashion, slowly making her way towards the front of the group in order to get a better view of the argument. Yoh sighed and followed her.

The young man seemed to be finished thinking and began calculating his response. Finally, he spoke.

"Well, maybe the fire doesn't mean to be destructive. Maybe it thinks its being helpful." The librarian looked shocked for a second, then smiled as if talking to a three-year-old.

"How so?"

"Well, everything else must seem so cold. You know, in fire's point of view that is. Fire just wants to change the world, make it as bright as it is. So it doesn't really think of itself as harmful."

"Everyone knows that fire is destructive, young man. If fire doesn't understand that it's harming people, there are plenty of people to tell it that it is, like I'm telling you now. So if you would be so kind, please put out your fire." The librarian was getting irritated at this point. Yoh, however, was just getting more and more curious. He exchanged a glance with Anna, Something about this guy seemed familiar.

The stranger ignored the librarians irritation and kept talking.

"Well, they can tell it, but that doesn't mean it'll listen. People going against fire just reinforces it's opinion that the world needs changing. They just make it angry, make it strengthen it's attack. That's why we have firemen." He wasn't talking to the librarian anymore. Every student and teacher exchanged worried glances as a frantic whisper rippled through the group. The seemingly crazy young man had directed his last words directly at Asakura Yoh.

Yoh, too, seemed shocked at first. But then he smiled as he finally understood the true meaning of the strangers words.

"Of course. To defeat fire, you have to overwhelm it; completely destroy it. That way it understands that the world is just fine the way it is." The stranger smiled, stood up, and removed his hood.

"Exactly. And then the fire is sorry. VERY sorry." Hao stepped forwards, shaking hands with his brother. Anna smirked.

"Well, this field trip wasn't completely useless after all. We managed to resolve a family feud."

Someone in the crowd spoke up;

"You mean that psycho is an Asakura? Figures." Yoh whirled around, drawing Harusame**(sp)** from his bag. The student looked shocked.

"Easy, man, you're gonna kill someone with that thing!" Yoh's face slipped into its usual relaxed expression.

"A sword doesn't always intend to kill. It sits and waits, masked in a harmless sheath, looking all the world a useless stick. But a swords true danger lies in the one who holds it," Here Yoh turned, smiling at his brother, "It's reason for fighting." Hao smirked and nodded. Yoh sheathed his sword.

"Come brother. Let's go home."

In a few months, people had forgotten the entire incident. Hao had become a natural fixture in the town of Funbari, even going to school with his brother.

But the brothers themselves never forgot the day when fires had started, a would-be world dominator had apologized, and two brothers learned a bit more about each other.

There! It is done! Please remember to review. If you do, you get a plate of virtual potstickers! Potstickers...yum.


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